U.S. Energy Department Loans 26 Million Barrels From Strategic Petroleum Reserve

The U.S. Department of Energy announced on Friday the allocation of 26.03 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to nine oil companies. This release marks the third instance of such lending under the Trump administration's strategy aimed at curbing escalating fuel prices resulting from the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran.

In March, the Trump administration approved the release of 172 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in tandem with the International Energy Agency's efforts to manage global fuel prices impacted by the conflict. The initiative involves drawing down a total of 400 million barrels.

To date, the U.S. has distributed 126 million barrels across three loan batches. These transactions entail energy companies repaying loans with additional crude oil as interest. Notable companies such as BP Products North America, ExxonMobil Oil Corp, and Marathon Petroleum were among those awarded loans in the third batch, according to the Department of Energy.